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Earth Science Weather Term Study Guide
1. Atmosphere—a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet
2. Atmospheric Pressure—the force per unit area that is exerted on a surface by the weight of the atmosphere.
3. Trophosphere—the lowest layer of the atmosphere in which the temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude
increases; the part of the atmosphere where weather conditions exist
4. Statosphere—the layer of the atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere and in which
the temperature increases as altitude increases (contains the ozone layer)
5. Mesosphere—the coldest layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere in which the
temperature decreases as altitude increases
6. Thermosphere—the uppermost layer of the atmosphere in which the temperature increases (includes
ionosphere)
7. Greenhouse Effect—the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon
dioxide, water vapor, and other gases in the air absorb and reradiate infrared radiation
8. Dew Point—at constant pressure and water vapor content, the temperature at which the rate of condensation
equals the rate of evaporation
9. Clouds—clouds form if the air cools to below its dew point
Types of Clouds:
Stratus Clouds—a gray cloud that
has a flat, uniform base and that
commonly forms at very low
altitudes
Cumulus Clouds—a low level, billowy
cloud that commonly has a top that
resembles cotton balls and a dark
bottom
Cirrus Clouds—a feathery cloud that
is composed of ice crystals and that
has the highest altitude of any cloud
in the sky
10. Precipitation—any form of water
that falls to Earth’s surface from the
clouds; includes rain, snow, sleet,
and hail
11. Cold Front—the front edge of a moving mass of cold air that pushes beneath a warmer air mass like a wedge
12. Warm Front—the front edge of advancing warm air that replaces colder air with warmer air
13. Stationary Front—a front of air masses that moves either very slowly or not at all.
14. Occluded Front—a front that forms when a cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass and lifts it off the ground
and over another air mass.
15. Thunderstorm—a heavy storm that is accompanied by rain, thunder, lightning, and strong winds.
16. Hurricane—a severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and whose strong winds of more than 120 km/h
spiral in toward the intensely low-pressure storm center.
17. Tornado—a destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds and that maybe visible as a funnelshaped cloud.
18. Wind Vane—an instrument used to determine direction of the wind
19. Station Model—a pattern of meteorological symbols that represents the weather at a particular observing
station and that is recorded on a weather map.